Brain Explorer An afternoon nap markedly boosts the brain’s learning capacity If you see a student dozing in the library or a co-worker catching 40 winks in her cubicle, don’t roll your eyes. New research from the University of California, Berkeley, shows that an hour’s nap can dramatically boost and restore your brain power. Indeed, the findings suggest that a biphasic sleep schedule not only refreshes the mind, but can make you smarter. Students who napped (green column) did markedly better in memorizing tests than their no-nap counterparts. (Courtesy of Matthew Walker) Conversely, the more hours we spend awake, the more sluggish our minds become, according to the findings. “Sleep not only rights the wrong of prolonged wakefulness but, at a neurocognitive level, it moves you beyond where you were before you took a nap,” said Matthew Walker, an assistant professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and the lead investigator of these studies. In the recent UC Berkeley sleep study, 39 healthy young adults were divided into two groups — nap and no-nap.
Neuranat : un site de neuroanatomie Morphologie Ce chapitre aborde les bases de l'anatomie descriptive du crâne, des méninges et du système nerveux central. Atlas Ce chapitre propose des atlas anatomiques interactifs dans les trois plans, un atlas neuroradiologique avec curseur 3D synchronisé dans les trois plans de l'espace et un atlas du tronc cérébral de l'espace neuroradiologiques, montrant un point choisi au niveau du cerveau simultanément dans les 3 plans de l'espace et sur une reconstruction 3D ainsi qu'un atlas du tronc cérébral. Vidéos Le chapitre Vidéos constitue un véritable atelier de dissection du cerveau grâce à des documents richmédia associant simultanément vidéo, images et textes. Animations Retrouvez des animations concernant la fissure choroïdienne, le fornix et le quatrième ventricule et un "serious game", Dyn@slice, permettant de s'exercer à remettre dans l'ordre des coupes de cerveau. © UPMC.
Sexual orientation – wired that way In a recent post, I presented the evidence that sexual preference is strongly influenced by genetic variation. Here, I discuss the neurobiological evidence that shows that the brains of homosexual men and women are wired differently from those of their heterosexual counterparts. First, we must consider the differences between the brains of heterosexual males and females. These differences are extensive and arise mainly due to the influence of testosterone during a critical period of early development (see Wired for Sex). They include, not surprisingly, differences in the number of neurons in specific regions of the brain involved in reproductive or sexual behaviours as well as differences in the number of nerve fibres connecting these areas. But they also involve areas not dedicated to these types of behaviours, such as the cerebellum, for example, which is involved in motor control among other things, and which shows a very large difference between men and women. Swaab DF (2008).
The Brain's Dark Energy Imagine you are almost dozing in a lounge chair outside, with a magazine on your lap. Suddenly, a fly lands on your arm. You grab the magazine and swat at the insect. What was going on in your brain after the fly landed? It turns out that when your mind is at rest—when you are daydreaming quietly in a chair, say, asleep in a bed or anesthetized for surgery—dispersed brain areas are chattering away to one another. Select an option below: Customer Sign In *You must have purchased this issue or have a qualifying subscription to access this content How to increase serotonin in the human brain without drugs Is the Internet Warping Our Brains? - Technology Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily, says Sparrow. For instance, for years people in the educational community have known that rote learning—that is, forcing children to memorize facts and dates—is a poor way to educate. If that's the case, allowing computers to do some of the memorizing for us might be a way to focus more on the more philosophical aspects of learning. "Perhaps those who teach in any context, be they college professors, doctors or business leaders, will become increasingly focused on imparting greater understanding of ideas and ways of thinking, and less focused on memorization," Sparrow told Time. Of course, while you might think that this research suggests people on the internet are using less of their brains than those not online, you'd be wrong.
Enhancing Brains Editor’s note: In 2008, Henry T. Greely, a professor at Stanford Law School, co-authored a commentary in Nature; it concluded that “safe and effective cognitive enhancers will benefit both the individual and society.” The article inspired an impressive number of responses from readers, and the debate has continued in scholarly journals and the mainstream media in the years following publication. Here Professor Greely builds on that momentum, arguing that only some concerns about cognitive enhancements are justified and proper attention is needed to address such issues. He contends that rather than banning cognitive enhancements, as some have suggested, we should determine rules for their use. Probing that question is my ultimate aim in this article, but we will get there somewhat indirectly. Note first, though, that this is largely a hypothetical discussion, as cognitive enhancement remains largely in the future. Why Cognitive Enhancement—and What Kinds of Enhancements?
Brain mechanism recruited to reduce noise during challenging tasks New research reveals a sophisticated brain mechanism that is critical for filtering out irrelevant signals during demanding cognitive tasks. The study, published by Cell Press in the February 26 issue of the journal Neuron, also provides some insight into how disruption of key inhibitory pathways may contribute to schizophrenia. "The ability to keep track of information and one's actions from moment to moment is necessary to accomplish even the simple tasks of everyday life," explains senior study author, Dr. Dr. "The primate dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and anterior cingulated cortex (ACC) are brain regions that focus attention on relevant signals and suppress noise in cognitive tasks. The researchers found that a pathway linking two related prefrontal areas within DLPFC and a pathway from the functionally distinct ACC to DLPFC similarly innervated excitatory neurons associated with paying attention to relevant stimuli. Source: Cell Press
Elucidation of Interactions of Alzheimer Amyloid β Peptides (Aβ40 and Aβ42) with Insulin Degrading Enzyme: A Molecular Dynamics Study - Biochemistry Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, Florida 33146 Biochemistry, 2010, 49 (18), pp 3947–3956 DOI: 10.1021/bi1002103 Publication Date (Web): April 12, 2010 Copyright © 2010 American Chemical Society *To whom correspondence should be addressed. † Funding Statement A funding grant (Department of Health Grant 08KN-11) to R.P. from the James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program of the Florida State Health Department is acknowledged. Section: Abstract In this study, interactions of the two full-length Alzheimer amyloid β peptides (Aβ40 and Aβ42) with the fully active form of insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) through unrestrained, all-atom MD simulations have been investigated. Citing Articles View all 5 citing articles Citation data is made available by participants in CrossRef's Cited-by Linking service. This article has been cited by 3 ACS Journal articles (3 most recent appear below).
The Brain-Information about the Brain 1 Introduction “I think, therefore I am.” —René Descartes, 17th-century philosopher Few of us question the crucial importance of the brain. The brain makes up only 2 percent of our body weight, but it consumes 20 percent of the oxygen we breathe and 20 percent of the energy we consume. Scientists have worked for many years to unravel the complex workings of the brain. Despite these and other significant advances in the field of brain research, most of the processes responsible for the integrated functioning of billions of brain cells remain a mystery. An essential aspect of any scientific research is communicating results to the public in a way that is easily understood. To correctly interpret the information transmitted through these venues, we need a better understanding of basic concepts related to the brain. 2 Myths and Realities about the Brain As a result of the misinformation presented by various media, many people maintain misconceptions about the brain and brain function.
The rise & fall of the prefrontal lobotomy : Neurophilosophy LOBOTOMY (from the Greek lobos, meaning lobes of the brain, and tomos, meaning cut) is a psychosurgical procedure in which the connections the prefrontal cortex and underlying structures are severed, or the frontal cortical tissue is destroyed, the theory being that this leads to the uncoupling of the brain’s emotional centres and the seat of intellect (in the subcortical structures and the frontal cortex, respectively). The lobotomy was first performed on humans in the 1890s. About half a century later, it was being touted by some as a miracle cure for mental illness, and its use became widespread; during its heyday in the 1940s and ’50s, the lobotomy was performed on some 40,000 patients in the United States, and on around 10,000 in Western Europe. Although psychosurgery has been performed since the dawn of civilization, the origins of the modern lobotomy are found in animal experiments carried out towards the end of the nineteenth century. My stepmother hated me.